Bobbe's Newsletter - Which Steels Are Worth Restoring?

Rich Peterson · From: Moorhead, MN

"What I’m saying is don’t just grab any old model of old guitar and think it’s gonna be worth a lot of money when beautifully restored.

"Guitars that I would not bother to take the time to restore unless you yourself have a peculiar fondness for them, are guitars like Mar-Len, any MSA, Sierra, Sho-Bud Mavericks, Fingertips, Cross-overs or any really off brand guitars like Pierce, Miller, Edge or Seymour (and that’s when I woke up)."

On the Forum, I regularly read praise for the old MSA PSGs, for the engineering and durability, I wonder why my Classic S-10 5X5, red lacquer, would not be considered worthy of restoration. No, it wouldn't be turned into a $5,000 collectable, but it would look as good as it sounds and plays.

Dave O'Brien · From: Florida and New Jersey

MSA's were built so good I've never seen one that NEEDED restoring! Laughing

Randy Wade · From: Batesville, Arkansas, USA

If you are in the business of restoring guitars for profit, I am sure you do have to pick closely what you put your valuable time and resources into. But... if you are doing it as a hobby then you should restore whatever makes you happy. So if you have fond memories of an '81 four door Toyota or an '86 Pontiac wagon,(like Bobbe mentioned), and all the fond memories of whatever you did in one of these, I say go for it! The memories, sentimental value, and things you will learn by doing like finish restoring and knowledge and experience gained from learning the mechanical workings can be used later on a "for profit" restore if you wish.

Rich Peterson · From: Moorhead, MN

Bent Romnes · From: London,Ontario, Canada

I believe that any guitar is worth restoring if it holds some value(sentimental, monetary) to you.
Nobody should really tell us that this or that guitar is not worth it. Just because one person says so, it don't mean that brand X is a wonderfully sounding guitar and brand Y is not. That is only in one person's ears. We all have our opinions and preferences.

It is not necessary to measure everything in terms of money.
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Steve Waltz · From: USA

I found his comments kind of strange and yes as someone that is restoring a Miller, my first reaction is to be a bit annoyed but he did say that if you have a thing for a guitar you should do it. One could take that as a comment against those guitars but I'm assuming that he was getting at the money issue and time is also money. I'm having a hard time believing that B.S. doesn't think a Mar-len or an MSA can't sound good.

I think the cost of a rehab is a good point to throw out there once in a while.

I have watched a parts manufacturer and the prices that he charges. I've seen people replace all of the underside of thier guitars at what I think is between $1000 and $1800 just in parts. When those guitars come up for sale they don't seem to bring anywhere near the price that the owners would like to recoop and they obviously didn't hold on to them for ever. It just makes me wonder if some complete part replacements are neccessary or if performance is really improved. I remember a few praising this parts maker just to later on choose not to do the same thing again, sometimes opting just to clean the original parts.

So maybe the discussion is good.

Dave O'Brien · From: Florida and New Jersey

Willie Nelson's guitar "Trigger" could use a refinish too but I wouldn't do it if it was mine.

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

I don't agree with Bobbe either, if someone has whatever guitar and wants to restore it for their own pleasure and use that is fine. If they are restoring it to sell, that can be a different situation as Bobbe says not all restored guitars are sellable or sellable at a "restored" price.

Bobbe probably gets calls or sees a lot of that through his store. People think their used or restored guitars are worth much more than they are really worth, to a dealer. Having worked in a music store there is no reason for a music store to buy a used guitar unless it is sellable and can be purchased where the store can make a profit.

Bob Muller · From: Oregon, USA

THIS IS A RESTORED MILLER USING ALL ORIGINAL PARTS EXCEPT FOR THE RODS. I DON'T SEE HOW THIS HURTS THE GUITAR,IT WORKS A LOT BETTER THAN WHEN IT WAS ALL COVERED WITH DIRT AND GREASE.

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

Rick Winfield · From: Pickin' beneath the Palmettos

I've got a 73 MSA D12, and it plays like a dream !
If you've got a lacquer one, with scratches, so be it. Adds character, to a fine instrument.
If you're into this to make a "buck", it's a different story. You must meet the demands of "popular opinion"
For me it's a "labor of love"
Rick

Roger Rettig · From: Naples, FL

Steve W. wrote:

"...the owners would like to recoop "

That's a pretty funny play-on-words, given the subject matter!
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Roger Rettig: Emmons D10, B-bender Teles, Martins, and a Gibson Super 400!
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Bobbe Seymour · From: Hendersonville TN USA, R.I.P.

Jack Stoner, now I can see why you couldn't hold that job at the music store that went broke! Laughing

Bobbe

Bobbe Seymour · From: Hendersonville TN USA, R.I.P.

'71 Ford Maverick or a '57 Chevy?

A '74 Red Baron ,,, Or a '74 Pro III?

Bobbe

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

Trust Bobbe when he says, "bad brain surgery can leave you with a headache". I 'spect he's been there, done that. Laughing

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Bob Muller · From: Oregon, USA

HOW ABOUT ADDING 4 NEW ADJUSTABLE KNEE LEVERS TO A 76 PRO II CUSTOM. THE GUITAR AND FINISH ARE OTHERWISE ALL ORIGINAL. WOULD THAT BE WORTH THE EFFORT??

Roger Rettig · From: Naples, FL

"recoop - recoup"

Funny, eh?

No??? Oh Well

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Roger Rettig: Emmons D10, B-bender Teles, Martins, and a Gibson Super 400!
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Steve Waltz · From: USA

I was thinking that people would think I couldn't spell........which is true sometimes.

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

Bobbe, I left the guitar "buying" to Bob Browning. All I did is fix them when they were broke. Cool

Rich Peterson · From: Moorhead, MN

I suspect the resale value of an old MSA is affected in part by the fact that a lot of them were made, and made so well, that there are a lot of them still around. Scarcity is one of the biggest factors in collectibility

I wouldn't be considering a refinish on my lacquer MSA if it were just scratched, but it has some abrasions down to the wood, in areas that are touched frequently. I personally do not find the dark staining of a maple neck Tele attractive, and it would be especially ugly on a red PSG.

Bobbe looks at the matter as a music store owner. When someone expects to get a big trade-in on a guitar he has put many hours into, they are going to be disappointed. They would probably do better on a person to person sale. Those people probably didn't choose that guitar to restore because of what it meant to them, but because the old axe didn't cost them much.

Richard Damron · From: Gallatin, Tennessee, USA (deceased)

Here we go again!!

If some of you people would learn to REALLY READ a topic or, in this case, Bobbe's newsletter then this topic would have been dead in the water 25 posts ago.

Beats all I've ever seen.

I read and understood your newsletter, Bobbe.

Richard

Bobby Burns · From: Tennessee, USA

I understand what Bobbe is saying, and I agree about the monetary part, to an extent. If I'd known which ones of those Harmonys were going to bring what some of them do now, I could have made a lot of money. Some of those Harmonys that were $40 pawn shop guitars 15 years ago, are bringing real guitar prices these days. I like old guitars if they are nice, regardless of who's name is on them, or how much they are worth. I think a nice old guitar deserves to be as nice as it possibly can be, even if that is nicer than original. A lot of Millers and Marlens were dogs. A lot of them were also pretty nice guitars, made from realy nice wood. A lot of them were just as nice as the perms, and work about the same. I just can't stand to see one of these that isn't set up to play. I can't imagine just throwing them away. Would I put the same time and money in one that I would an old push-pull or perm? No, but if it's a deal, I'm all over it.

Alan Brookes · From: Brummy living in Southern California

I get a lot of pleasure out of taking an instrument that would otherwise be thrown out and bringing it back to life. I'm not concerned as to their collectible values.

Bobby Burns · From: Tennessee, USA

Boy! Did I use the word nice enough in my previous post or what?

Roger Rettig · From: Naples, FL

I thought it was a nice post, Bobby! Very Happy

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Roger Rettig: Emmons D10, B-bender Teles, Martins, and a Gibson Super 400!
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